Susan Cover

Matt Gagnon has posted an as-yet-unconfirmed rumor that Democratic State Senator Lisa Marraché has decided not to pursue the Senate Presidency and to also drop her own campaign for re-election in District 25.

Susan Cover reports that a caucus will be held on June 30th to choose a replacement for Democratic District 21 Senate candidate Nancy Smith, who left the race after accepting a position as executive director of GrowSmart Maine.

Governor Baldacci has proposed a $306 million bond package to invest in Maine's infrastructure and economy. The proposal is meant to complement the federal recovery package recently signed into law by President Obama.

If the legislature were to pass the package as it's currently formulated, the bonds would go to voters in two chunks - $265.8 million this November and $40.4 million on the June 2010 primary ballot.

Update:Susan Cover has some initial reaction from Republican House leader Josh Tardy:

"We are open to gaining a full understanding of the governor's proposal and will review it carefully, keeping in mind that bonds represent just one component of the action we must take to protect the jobs of Maine people and foster a climate that will create new ones. Maine state government cannot simply borrow our way to prosperity. It must be just part of a strategy that includes working to improve the business climate and relieve Maine's high tax burden and energy costs."

Susan cover today notes that the anti-gay marriage groups have a website up opposing the equal marriage law currently being considered by the Maine legislature.

The site features a series of videos of Bishop Richard Malone of Portland answering questions from a group of what appear to be well-lit actors and a message to Maine from Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council. The site also has a well-designed form visitors can use to contact their state legislators.

The site doesn't list the backers of what it calls the "Maine Marriage Initiative," but it appears to be a product of the Portland Catholic Diocese and groups associated with James Dobson's Focus on the Family, which is a parent organization of both the Family Research Council and the Maine Family Policy Council, headed by Mike Heath (which until recently was known as the Christian Civic League).

Tony Perkins will be visiting Maine on Sunday to speak at an anti-same sex marriage rally in Augusta. Here's a clip from his recent appearance on the Colbert Report:

The main opposition so far seems to be focused on the plans to fire a large number of state employees and to transfer some inmates in the Maine prison system to private, out-of-state institutions.

Susan Cover adds up the state jobs lost in this article in the Kennebec Journal. You can see Tim Belcher, the executive director of the Maine State Employees Association, respond to the cuts in the clip above, where he predicts that they "will result in lives being shattered."

The prison plan is similar to one that was rejected by the legislature in 2007, and there's already been pushback from some Democratic legislators and the Maine Civil Liberties Union.

The Republicans, on the other hand, seem to be quietly supportive of the Baldacci plan so far.

There's still a long way to go on this one and the budget that actually passes may look very different from the governor's current proposal.

Dennis Bailey, executive director of CasinosNo!, has taken aim straight at pro-casino spokesperson and Green Party stalwart Pat LaMarche with a new recurring feature on the group's website "The Daily Pat Down," which will be used to respond to her public statements.

Susan Cover reports that LaMarche says bring it on, asserting that "we're more than happy to go source for source with what we've got."

Susan Cover discusses a mysterious announcement from the Obama campaign.

The Maine campaign for Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama will announce on Friday in Lewiston that "a prominent Maine leader" is endorsing the Illinois Senator.

Former Senator George Mitchell and Co-Chair of Maine Republicans for Obama, Sherry Huber, will also join the campaign for the endorsement at the University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn College, according to the Obama camp.

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